Like modern-day Israelis, the ancient Israelites were constantly on the move. We are used to rushing from safety to shelter and back again, jolted from ordinary moments by sirens. Many of us have relocated to other countries. And many of us are coming on Aliyah as they feel unsafe in their own countries. Last week’s Torah portion described Korach’s rebellion and the specter of civil war. In a disturbing parallel, we are witnessing a modern-day intifada—from within. Extremist Jewish settlers are attacking soldiers and police, and they are not being treated as enemy terrorists would be. The authorities are not responding as decisively as Moses and God did in the wilderness to rebels from within. These Jewish terrorists are being treated with leniency by a right-wing government that sees them as kin.

What makes this week’s Torah portion, Hukat, even more unsettling is its opening: the ritual of the Red Heifer. Some may recall the TV series Dig, in which Jewish and Christian fundamentalists transport a red heifer to the Temple Mount—symbolizing an apocalyptic ambition shared by some in our time. Minister Ben Gvir’s repeated visits to the Mount feel like a lit match near dry tinder.

In Parshat Hukat, the Israelites journey through the wilderness of Zin, encamp at Kadesh, skirt Edom via the Sea of Reeds, and traverse the land east of the Jordan. No hotels, no rest stops—just a relentless trek across an unforgiving landscape.

“The Israelites arrived in a body at the wilderness of Zin… and the people stayed at Kadesh. Miriam died there and was buried there” (Numbers 20:1).

No mourning, no tribute. The woman who saved Moses as a baby and led the women in song after the Sea crossing disappears with barely a word.

But silence can speak volumes. The sages could not accept this erasure. The Midrash in Bamidbar Rabbah 1:2 and the Talmud in Ta’anit 9a imagine a miraculous well that followed the Israelites thanks to Miriam—and dried up at her death. She may have held no title, but she nourished the people in body and spirit. Second Temple authors such as Josephus gave Miriam a proper and detailed funeral. Without her, the people thirsted—and chaos followed. God instructed Moses to speak to a rock to bring forth water. Instead, in grief and........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)